Join the Moose,Elks, VFW, Eagles, and any other fraternal organizations you can find. Many have RV hookups and almost all will let you park on the lot fora while. Install 600 watts of solar panels and 600 amp/hours of batteries. Boondock a lot. Volunteer or workamp. Get the geezers pass. Research on the internet for free or low cost campgrounds.

I have not kept a close track on what we spend because it unavoidable. But, including the time we have been volunteering,we probably average under $5/night. WAY UNDER.

Welcome to full time. For traveling I use a budget of $50.00 per night. This is high, but I would rather budget high than low. Rates vary, but the longer the stay, the lower the rate. Use discount services, AAA, Passport America, Good Sam, etc., for the best rates.

There are three different rate scenarios to consider: Overnights, Longer Term, and Freebie/Cheapy.

Overnight stays are generally at full price or a slight discount, so pricey. You can save some money using 30A service instead of 50A, and using dump station rather than onsite sewer, and you can choose lower-priced parks and public parks where available. Discount programs like Good Sam and Passport America will help IF they have member parks along your route. With campground prices skyrocketing in last few years, we found that we were spending about $40/night for a 50A full hook-up. A lesser site was only about $4/night cheaper, so we mostly paid for the convenience of 50A FHU.

Longer term stays can often get you weekly, monthly or seasonal discounts, but perhaps not in popular destination area. If the park is always full anyway, they have no reason to offer a long term discount rate. But for long term stays, we always wanted 50A FHU, so no opportunity for cheaper sites. We averaged about $30/night for long term stays at monthly rates.

Freebie/Cheapy stays run the gamut from friend's driveways to Walmart parking lots to primitive or unimproved camping areas on public lands. They are mostly free or a few dollar/night, but no services. If staying with friends, figure on helping with the electric bill (you may be adding $1-$3 per day to their power bill), buying them dinner, etc. as part of the budget. Also the cost of increased genset usage. We always figured that "free' was really more like $5/day. To help find & choose freebie sites, subscribe to free camping info such as https://www.overnightrvparking.com/

My monthly rates have run between $450-660 with electricity included and $300-450 with electrical meter.But I'm not really going to tourist destinations either.Daily for the same places run $30-40 sometimes they have a weekly rate usually 6x the daily rate.

While I don't full-time, we are gone about half time with a typical trip being 4-5 weeks long. Much of the answer to your question depends on where you are and what you like to do. If you live in the West and like solitude, I know people who boondock almost exclusively. They head to a public dump station and water fill every so often (the time depends on their tank size). That isn't our style for more than a week, but you need to decide on your own what is your personal style. Note that there is a cost for dumping and water in many places, and you need either a significant investment in solar or a lot of generator fuel. You can stay in Quartzsite, for example, for $180 or so for a full season, about 4-5 months, and that one has a dump and water available. We prefer to travel instead of staying in one place for very long, so we try for public parks during the week (when they aren't as crowded and easier to find a spot) then head to a private campground on weekends when public sites are hard to come by without advanced reservations. The public sites are NF or State Parks with a cost of <$20, and sometimes a lot less. No services mostly, but sometimes we can snag an electric site. Then again, we stay west of the Rocky Mountains mostly. Our biggest expense is fuel instead of campground fees.

That's a highly personal decision. Some folks love it and seek it out, while others avoid it. And everywhere in-between. It's both a lifestyle and a budget thing, so different answers for different people.

We boondocked more when younger and also when we traveled around a lot and did more frequent "en route" stops. Less so as we got old and fat and more inclined toward doing things the easy way. Also boondocked less in hot weather, when a/c has a higher priority. You will have to find your own answer to the "how much" questions.

In 2016 we went from Portland, OR to AK and back. We spent 137 of 139 days not connecting to elect, water or sewer. Only ran the generator once for about 2 hours because we had about 3 days of very cloudy, rainy weather. We have 650 watts of solar and 400AH (Amp Hours) of lithium battery. We watch satellite TV 2-5 hours a day, laptops 2-5 hours a day. Microwave to heat things up, or bake a potato. My wife is handicapped and has an electric power chair and large scooter, which we charge from solar. We also use a toaster. We don't use a coffee maker though. We use boiling water and a Malitta coffee maker.

We seek out places to dry camp or boondock. We both detest being in an RV park where all we see is the RV's beside us.

We travel 6-10 months of the year. We probably spend a total of 10 days each year in an actual RV Park. We stay in county parks, state parks, National Forests, BLM land, etc, etc.

If you or your spouse are 62+, get a senior pass. It will save you as much as half for camping at most Federal parks (NPS, Corps of Eng, etc.) plus free park access at most National Parks (Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, etc.). Only costs $10 ($20 on-line). Or, if either of you are disabled, an Access Pass is free with the same savings as the Senior Pass.

Yes. I should have mentioned that's a 50A FHU with excellent cable tv & solid wifi, in a lovely park in a popular destination area (western NC). Parks run $40-$50 per night where we spend our summers, and parks that are full every night don't need to discount much, if at all. Some of them don't even offer a monthly rate. I know may places where one can stay for half (or less) than that, but that's not where we've stayed the past 3 years.

We averaged about $24/night with long term rates in an upscale park in Maine's Bar Harbor region. Still high by many people's standards, but that's the price of nice sites in popular places.

If you or your spouse are 62+, get a senior pass. It will save you as much as half for camping at most Federal parks (NPS, Corps of Eng, etc.) plus free park access at most National Parks (Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, etc.). Only costs $10 ($20 on-line).

Just a heads-up. There is an article in the June FMCA Magazine entitled, "Cost Increase Looms for National Park Pass." The price will soon increase from $10 to $80. The effective date has not been determined, but a NPS spokeswoman said it is likely to happen in 2017. She recommended that eligible people obtain the pass in "the next few months." Passes can be purchased from most federal recreation sites or offices. For an additional $10, passes my be ordered through the mail or online. Visit www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm for more information. R

What size rig do you have and how many solar panels do you have AStravelers?

A pair of 325 watt panels, wired in parallel. One on the front and the other on the rear of the rig. I left enough room to walk around the panels so I can access everything on the roof and also to be able to clean the dirt off of the panels.